Cause of Newport Chemical Depot Leak Not Known

The U.S. Army remains unsure what caused a weekend leak of nearly 500 gallons of wastewater produced during the destruction of VX nerve agent at Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 31).

Workers yesterday entered the containment area where the leak occurred to begin investigating what caused the spill, said Depot spokeswoman Terry Arthur. It appears that the leak occurred in a recirculation loop where the wastewater is sampled, he said.

Weapon processing at the site has stopped because of the incident. “At this point we don’t know how long we will be in suspension, so it’s hard to say how it will impact the final schedule,” Arthur said.

Elizabeth Crowe of the Chemical Weapons Working Group said that delays at weapons processing facilities are common (Associated Press/Newsday, Oct. 31).

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